Foreign airlines now own 25 per cent of Calgary

U.S.-based Delta Air Lines now owns a 12.7 per cent stake in WestJet, while Korean Air has another 10 per cent and Air France-KLM controls 2.3 per cent

WestJet has officially sold a quarter of its business to foreign airlines for US$550 million, marking another major milestone for an airline that started with three planes almost 30 years ago.

Onex Corp., the Toronto-based private equity firm that remains WestJet’s majority owner, said Wednesday it has closed a deal selling minority stakes to American, European and Asian competitors.

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“It’s a natural evolution of growth in the airline business,” John Gradek, an aviation expert from McGill University in Montreal, said Wednesday.

“Either you stay local (and) you die, or you go international,” Gradek said.

U.S.-based De